Here and Now
by StarvingLunatic
Summary: Consider this a missing chapter from Always Here. Emma has a sit down with her parents about how they treat Regina. SwanQueen.


I don't own these characters; Disney/ABC does.

This could be considered like a missing chapter from Always Here.

This one is for LadyLeft70, who said "The only thing I would want to see was a confrontation between the Swan-Mills and the Charmings after Emma's return, especially by Emma and Henry." I missed the Henry part of it, but Emma is all over this.

Thanks to my beta, Kylie for making sure this is readable. And, as always, come say hi to me on Facebook.

Here and Now

Emma had to ignore how uncomfortable Regina was with her idea. She did not mean or want to cause her wife any anxiety, but this needed to be done. She could not stand for anyone, even her parents, disrespecting her wife. And the fact that Regina would stand here with her, even though it was obvious Regina would rather be anywhere else was all the more reason for her to do this. Yes, they both endured a lot to hold onto family, but Emma had reached her limit, so it was time to put her foot down.

"It'll be all right," Emma said to Regina as she took her hand. They stood in the foyer. Regina had moved to answer the door a few seconds ago, but had not quite made it there. The doorbell continued to ring, but Regina was unmoved.

"We don't need to do this," Regina said, giving Emma's hand a little tug.

Emma gave her hand a squeeze in return. "Yes, we do. Don't try to protect me or even them. I plan to be with this family for a long time, so they need to deal with that."

Regina gave her a small smile, but didn't say anything more. She opened the door and there stood Emma's parents, looking like they had not disappointed her for the nth time. _Will they always be this way?_ Would there always be a moment where she needed their support and it would not come?

"Hey, glad you guys could make it. Come in." Emma motioned for them to enter. Regina only stepped out of their way.

"It's good to see you, Emma." Snow stepped over to her and dared to give her a hug. It did not seem to register to Snow that she did not return the embrace. Snow stepped back with the same smile on her face, as always, like everything was all right. _How is it that she can seriously only see what she wants to see? How much of the world has she missed because of this?_

Emma cleared her throat and nodded her head toward her wife. Snow's face scrunched up for a moment, oblivious to her disrespect. _As always_.

"Hello, Regina." Snow turned back to Regina and moved while she was going to embrace her. The thing that stopped Snow was Regina looking at her like she would set her on fire if she dared. Emma would not say anything if she did.

Tension dropped into the foyer like a heavy fog. Before it got out of hand, David barreled through and gave Emma a hug. She felt a little bit better about hugging him simply because she heard he had been ready to fight Hook during her spell. He did not blindly believe she had fallen in love with a fool and lost all her brain cells, throwing away her family. That did not excuse how he treated Regina.

"Come on." Emma clapped her hands and then pointed to the living room with both hands.

They all walked into the living room to some tea and cake Regina had set up earlier. Apparently, Regina could not have people over without offering food of some kind. And most of the time, it was not even poisoned.

Emma took the baking as the cry of help it was and she would use the rest of their child-free day making things up to Regina. She amended that thought as Regina's hand shook as she served the tea. She would spend the rest of the time assuring Regina she would always be there. Snow White and Prince Charming would not, could not change that.

"Thank you," Snow said as she accepted her cup of tea, sitting on one end of the couch. David fell right next to her. "We were a little surprised you asked us to come over without the baby."

"We wanted to talk to you, not have a play-date. Well, I wanted to talk to you," Emma replied as she sat on the other end of the couch. Regina wanted no part of this. _I'm sorry she feels so bad, but this necessary_.

"We," Regina corrected her as she sat down by Emma with more than enough space between them and the other couple. Emma looked at her and Regina nodded. Emma smiled. They were a unit, so they were in this together.

"What do you want to talk about?" David asked as he picked up one of the tiny teacakes. He ate it in one bite and went for another.

"I would think that's obvious, but whatever. I want to talk about last month and how you treated Regina," Emma replied.

"How we treated Regina?" Snow's face scrunched up again, like this was news to her. She sipped her tea.

"Yeah, really how you treated the whole situation, but more importantly how you treated my wife," Emma said.

"Well, if we knew she was your wife," Snow had the nerve to say.

"How the hell does that make a difference? Or why? You knew she was my partner. The mother of my children. My family. Yet, you still disrespected her and our relationship. You undermined everything we built and I want to know why. Why would you do that?" Emma asked, eyes darting back and forth between her parents.

"Emma, we were only trying to respect your wishes," Snow replied.

Emma scowled. "Respect my wishes? You saw me disrespecting the woman I devoted myself to, the family I devoted myself to, married or not, and just accepted that I would throw them all away for Hook?" Hook was not that special.

"We thought—" Snow tried to say, but Emma cut her off.

"Stop saying _we_. I understand you both work together, but right now I really need you to act like two separate individuals with your own voice. So, tell me what Snow White thought rather than the collective." Emma pointed to her mother.

Snow's face became tense and her tea was forgotten. She cut her eyes to Regina, as if this was somehow Regina's fault. Regina's back straightened even more than her impossibly perfect posture allowed, Emma gave her thigh a squeeze, but kept her focus on Snow and David. They could not treat Regina any way they wanted and they would soon learn this.

"Don't look at her like that. Regina was willing to let this go, but what kind of partner would I be if I let something like this slide? So, tell me, Snow, what is it you thought you were doing by accusing Regina of having me under a spell rather than thinking Hook had me under a spell?" Emma glared at her mother, daring her to speak.

Snow was silent for a moment, eyes on the floor as if she planned to move it with her mind. "I thought you realized you loved Hook after all. I mean, you were with him before. It seemed like True Love. I thought you may have realized he was who you really wanted to be with and I wanted to support your decision."

Emma could not help sucking her teeth and reeling. "Support my decision? Did you think it was a good decision?" She started to get the idea that her mother at the least would support any idiotic idea she had to avoid losing her in any way. While the sentiment was sweet, it was not a good practice to let a person hang themselves, especially her child. She would only let Henry make a stupid decision if she felt he might learn something from it if he did not want to listen to reason.

Snow's jaw tensed. "I just want you to be happy. Is that so wrong?" Her eyes begged for Emma to understand, but it was not possible.

Emma curled her lip. "That is such a cop-out answer. I might be happy smoking crack. Are you going to support that decision because I'm happy?" Knowing Snow, the answer might be yes. _How the hell does she think this is healthy behavior?_

Snow scowled. "No, I would not support you doing drugs. That's an extreme example."

Emma's mouth dropped open for a moment. "But, leaving my family for Hook isn't?"

Snow bristled, face pulling into a frown briefly. "I thought you loved him."

Emma inhaled through her nose. "If David suddenly decided he loved, I dunno Kathryn, you'd be okay with him leaving you and the Little Guy?" Thinking about her brother and his name only further reminded her how little Snow actually cared about her, or at the very least considered her feelings for anything.

"That's different," Snow said.

Emma could not stop the scowl as it sliced across her face. "Of course you think it is because now it's about you. But, this is my family and just like you would fight for yours, I need you to be willing to fight for mine since it should be your family, too."

Snow's body jumped, like she had been hit by lightning. Maybe she did not realize she should see Emma's family as her own. How could Snow consider herself Henry's grandmother, but not consider his family her family? The idea was exhausting and Emma did not want to waste time or energy on it.

"I am willing to fight for your family," Snow said, leaning forward as if that made her words all the more true.

Emma shook her head. _How does she fix her mouth to say this crap?_ "You didn't do that here. You didn't fight for my family. You gave up on my dream to watch the dream you wanted me to live. I can't accept that. If that's how things are going to be between us, then we might as well go back to just being friends and then not being very good friends."

"Emma, you know that's not what I want," Snow said, eyes tearing.

Emma found herself unmoved. It was a little scary. _Should I feel something here? Some type of emotion_. All she felt was annoyance.

"Either show that or this is just lip service. Letting whatever happen and just going 'Oh well that's probably what Emma wants' as you watch me tear my own family apart isn't giving me what I need. It's not support. You didn't support me here. If anything you abandoned me. Again." Emma felt like it needed to be said. Her parents did not seem to understand what abandonment was or what it did to her. She was so ready to write them out of her life over this. They caused too many psychological issues.

_Can you just write them out, though?_ The thought worried Emma. Emotions could go away so easily. Her emotions could go away so easily. Could it happen with her parents? Did she want that, even knowing how horrific it could be? _What if it's happening already? _Her heart clenched in her chest before leaping into her throat. She had to swallow it down to continue the discussion.

"We didn't mean to," Snow said.

Emma shook her head. "I already told you about this 'we' thing. But, since you want to talk for David, Dad let's talk." Emma turned to her deputy.

Emma felt like at this point in their lives David knew her better than Snow. They spent the day together most of the time and talked almost all of the time. He had to know her getting back with Hook with a complete crock.

"Did you think I got back with Hook?" Emma asked. She felt like he might surprise her and say he wanted her back with Hook. Hook had been his original choice for her, after all.

"I entertained the thought, but that wasn't it," David answered and for a moment Snow's eyes went wide, like she did not know that.

"Then what was it? Why didn't you stand by my family?" Emma asked.

"Because I don't trust Regina," David replied, eyes now locked on Regina. He did not sound ashamed to admit it. "No, I didn't think you got back with Hook, but I couldn't get passed the idea that Regina might have done something to you and maybe that broke. Yes, I could tell you were weird with Hook, but Regina has spent her life making Snow's life miserable and ruining things for everyone all the time, so I thought something could've happened there." He motioned to Regina with both hands.

Regina did not look upset over it, face almost blank. She did not react, did not move. Emma was not surprised by that, as Regina tended to think most people hated her anyway, even if evidence said otherwise. Emma did not want Regina to think David hated her, though. And she did not want David to hate Regina.

"Thanks for being honest at least, but I feel like you should be beyond this by now. Why don't you just trust my choice?" Emma asked.

"Because I've seen Regina do some crap! Slaughter villages on the hunt for Snow. Right after Snow saved her from being executed, Regina stabbed her in the stomach. Regina stormed our castle with the intention of killing us all. I just…" He sighed and shook his head. "I want to respect your choice, but it's hard. It's hard." His voice shook a little.

"That's valid," Regina said.

Emma growled. "No, that's not valid! You're not the same. Regina isn't the same person who stabbed Snow, tried to kill Snow, or tried to kill us."

Regina shook her head and licked her lips. "No, Emma, I am still that person. I have history and that history has brought us here. Just as it took us time to get to where we are, it might take time for him to trust me."

David nodded. "It might not happen."

"Dad!" Emma almost jumped up, but instead shot forward to the edge of the couch. How could he say that? He sat with her for so many hours, listening to her gush about Regina and he might never trust her wife.

David held up his hands. "I don't have the same relationship you and Snow have with Regina, okay? I didn't get this warm, fuzzy Regina." He waved a finger in Regina's direction. "I got 'kill 'em all and let 'em rot' Regina. I just want to protect you both and I understand you both have all this love in your hearts for Regina, but all I can think about is the hurt I know she's capable of."

The reminder of what Regina had done, even though she had never witnessed it, hit Emma hard in the gut. That was not her Regina, though. Could never be her Regina.

"But, she's changed and she has all this love in her and you have to see now you both actually have a lot in common. Didn't Regina go through Hell to help me? To save me? Beyond that, to save the town?" Emma replied. Surely her father had to understand that Regina was as much of a hero as he was. She was not just her past. "Regina is her present as well."

David watched Regina, less wary than before. "That's true. I guess I'm still stuck as seeing her as the Evil Queen at times." Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair.

"I need you to see her as Regina, as that's who she is. And I need you to get to a point where you understand this is my family and if you're going to protect me, you have to protect them, which also means Regina. You have to back Regina or all you're doing is helping pull my family apart," Emma said.

David took a breath. "I understand this is your family. I get that. One of the reasons I could understand you were under a spell was because of your reaction to Nathan. I know how you feel about him, but again, since I can't trust Regina… I just wasn't sure if you hadn't also been under a spell before that. I mean, why love Regina?"

Regina stiffened and Emma held her tightly. Emma then glared at her father. "I dunno. Why love a shepherd disguised as a prince?"

He had the nerve to scowl. "I'm a catch."

Emma laughed. "Yeah, just about as much of a catch as I am."

Regina nudged her with her shoulder. "You are and I'll tell you more about that when your parents aren't sitting across from us."

"Anyway, the whole point of this gathering is that I need you both to start respecting my family and trusting Regina. I hate to break it to you, but if I had a problem, she's the first person I'd call," Emma said because she felt like it needed to be said. She needed her parents to understand she trusted Regina with everything. She had never done this with a person and still did not really do it. There were a handful of people Emma would trust with everything and her parents were not on that list. So, they had nerve to not trust Regina.

Her parents were silent for a long while. Emma wished she could take that as a good thing, but she knew all too well that most of the time things went in one ear and out the other with both of them. But, these things still needed to be said. They were not allowed to treat the woman who had given her everything she wanted in life any old way they wanted to. Yeah, it was after going through trials and tribulations, but Regina had given her more than any other person ever, including them. So, yeah, her parents would have to learn to deal.

"Emma, we didn't mean any disrespect to you," Snow said.

"No, only to Regina. You don't get that it doesn't make it okay and I don't know what to tell you at this point for you to get it," Emma replied, which she expected.

"Emma," David chimed in before Emma could on. Again, he knew her better than Snow did, probably knew where her feelings were going. "We're going to get to that point. This is your family and your family is our family. It's hard, but we'll get there."

"Promise?" Emma asked, maybe even begged. She did not want to cut them off, but she would learn to live without them. She had lived without them for a long time, after all.

"I promise." He held up his hand as if he had been a boy scout and it fit him. Maybe in his Cursed memories he was a boy scout.

"David?" Snow looked at him, almost like she did not understand what just happened. She probably did not.

"Snow, we owe this to Emma." He glanced at Regina. "Actually, I guess we owe it to you, too, Regina. You saved Emma. You risked your life to save her. I'm grateful for that, even if I don't trust you completely. It's enough to give me pause and help me see you in a different light. I appreciate you bringing our daughter back to us." He gave Regina a little smile.

"I need you to show that, Dad," Emma said. "I need you both to show that." She glanced at Snow.

"What? I'm always willing to give Regina another chance," Snow declared, sitting up straight. "As long as she doesn't stab me over it again."

Regina stiffened. "I'd say hopefully you don't use me to kill my mother to save Rumple's tired hide again, but we can only do that once, right?" She smirked in a way that said "fuck you" almost better than the actual words.

"Regina, be nice or she'll throw you another baby shower should the time come," Emma teased. Regina sucked her teeth, but her eyes sparkled a bit.

"We all want is this family to work," David said. It was surprising to hear David say this. Emma always felt like he seemed to be one who could take or leave her. Maybe he had grown as a person and Emma only just now noticed.

"We do," Emma said. She would like to have parents for the rest of her life if she could, just like she would like to be a parent for the rest of her life._ I will never do this to Henry or Nathan_.

"We have to make it work then. I understand where you're coming from." David looked between Emma and Regina. "I don't want to be the one to mess this up."

Regina took a breath. "I don't either." Her voice was low.

David nodded. "And, see, I believe that. So, I feel like I should be able to get to a point where I see you as Regina, and not as the Evil Queen. It's just hard."

Emma smiled at him a little. "Thanks for being honest, Dad."

David smiled a little as well. "I want the best for you and if you feel this thing you have with Regina is the best, then I'm going to get on board. Kicking and screaming if necessary."

"Me, too!" Snow piped in, almost like she needed to get in on the moment.

"If I can do the kicking, this sounds promising," Regina remarked.

Emma gave her wife a pinch on the thigh. "Be nice."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Fine."

Emma grinned and her heart felt full and light. She had a family, not just her wife and kids, but her parents and a sibling. Maybe that was why David was different. Raising Neal might have helped him understand Emma more as a daughter than as a friend. Whatever it was, she was glad for it. She could see with Snow there would be some work, but she knew it came from fear of losing her, not wanting to be rid of her. She had to work on making Snow understand there was nothing to fear. Time would help with that.

-8-8-8-8-

Regina sighed in relief as they finally ushered the Charmings out of the door. There was progress made, but she was still happy to see them go. She fell against Emma as soon as the door was shut, drained of more than she realized until the sound of the door closing echoed through the room. Emma held her close.

"You do realize that was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me?" Regina asked. Emma had risked losing her parents for her. That sacrifice was bigger than any time Emma had risked her life for Regina.

Emma rubbed her shoulder. "Even more so than offering to help you get off that time I walked on your masturbating?"

Regina sighed and wrapped her arms around Emma. "Can you just take the compliment, my love?" While that was the moment that pushed their relationship toward this, she would rather not remember Emma walking in on her and making that awkward proposal.

"I could, but it's not as funny. I'm more concerned about losing you than losing them at this point. You're part of me, part of my soul. If I lost you or something happened to you, I'd wither inside, so yeah I'm going to stand up for you, even if it's to them."

Regina smiled. "There you go again, being romantic." She felt light, as if she had not realized she meant so much to Emma, even though she knew in her heart. "But, surely you know you wouldn't lose me regardless of how your parents treat me. You are not your parents."

Emma gave her a squeeze. "No, but I never want you to think they come before you. You're quite possibly the only person I didn't feel abandoned by for a long time."

"Until Pan's Curse, I'm guessing." It was beyond her control, but she could see how Emma would still look at it as being abandoned.

"Well, yeah, then you left, like everyone else. But, unlike everyone else, you fought to get back to me. Well, me and Henry. It took me a while to come to terms with that, but it happened. Regina, no one has ever been there for me like you, so I'm going to be there for you the same." Emma kissed the top of her head.

Regina chuckled. "Aren't we a pair?"

"The best pair." Emma leaned down to kiss her on the lips.

Regina could not argue that, did not want to argue that. Emma was the best thing to happen to her and now it was beyond the fact that Emma had Henry. Emma stood on her own and allowed Regina to realize her value in herself again.

"Come here." Emma pulled Regina toward the living room.

Regina did not put up any resistance and Emma pulled her down onto the sofa. She curled into Emma while Emma grabbed the TV remote, the uneaten teacakes and cold tea. Emma searched for a movie for whatever reason. Regina did not need to see anything. Right now, she was content to be someone's everything.

"Thank you for standing up for me," Regina said, tucking her feet underneath her while resting a hand on Emma's abdomen.

Emma blew out a breath. "You were willing to give up your soul for me, Regina. Standing up to my parents is nothing."

"Well, you gave your soul first to be fair," Regina replied.

"You had my baby."

"You had my baby first."

Emma pulled away just a little, as if she needed Regina to see her frown. "It's not a contest!"

Regina caressed Emma's stomach, which got Emma to settle. Regina kissed her chin. "No, it's not."

Emma put her arm around Regina's shoulders. "You believe in me, babe. It's in a different way than everyone else does. You don't have faith in me because I'm the savior or even a hero or anything like that. I've never had that before. You fight for me, even if other people will just stand on the sidelines. You can tell when something's up with me and you'll fight."

Regina's brow furrowed as she regarded Emma. "How could I not? You fight for me all the time. I think it's plain to see we're the first to fight for each other." This was not something she was accustomed to either, but she would do everything in her power to keep it.

Emma shook her head. "You had Maleficent for a while, at least."

"I always thought it was too little too late for me with her. I'm glad I got her back on her feet, but I was too far gone for her to do anything with me." Maleficent never would have been able to help her heal the way Emma did.

Emma frowned again and her eyes drifted to the wall. Regina knew what happened. Emma was flashing back to the ordeal they escaped not too long ago. She cupped Emma's face, getting her attention. Hazel eyes focused on her, but still seemed to look through her, into some great beyond.

"Stay with me, Emma," Regina said, stroking Emma's cheeks with her fingertips. She needed to keep Emma in the present whenever she needed to sort through any of her emotions.

"I'm here." Emma's gaze remained far, far away.

"No, you drifted. Stay here. Stay with me. Don't think about your parents. Don't think about what happened. Stay here." Regina swung her leg over Emma's lap and settled right on Emma. She could learn to like straddling Emma for some reason. "Look at me."

"I am looking at you," Emma said.

"No, you're not." She knew she did not have Emma's attention. Emma was lost in her head, as she tended to be. "My love, I know this has been a trying time. We'll get through it."

Emma sighed and Regina knew she had Emma's attention when Emma's hands went to her waist. Now, Emma was looking at her. She leaned in, pressing their foreheads together. Emma tilted her head, just enough to kiss Regina's lips.

"I want our kids back," Emma said in a low voice.

Regina glanced at her watch. "We have a couple of hours." Ruby was kind enough to take their sons to the park to watch some boat races. Nathan obviously was not old enough to comprehend it, but Henry had been beyond excited when they left. "Why do you want the kids back?" Ever since the thing with Hook, Emma found herself wanting to be with the boys at random times. She had only recently gone back to work and left in the middle of the day to go home if Regina was there, spend time with Nathan, and wait for Henry to get in from school.

"I just…" Emma took a breath. Her emotions had been muddled since Faust and she had been working on making sense of things. Sometimes, her eyes darted around the place and Regina could see her mind at work, analyzing and overanalyzing things. "I think I want to see our family."

"They'll be back soon. Our family is still whole, still intact. Your family is whole. You have your wife, your sons, and your parents still."

Emma nodded. "Not exactly whole."

"You're still thinking about adoption?" It was not an idea Regina was opposed to, but she felt like Emma needed to get through this mental block before they did.

"Yes. You think it's silly?" Emma gave her puppy eyes.

Regina rubbed Emma's shoulders. "You know I don't think that. I just think you need time, sweetheart. You only just went back to work a few days ago."

Emma let loose a rattled laugh. "Yeah."

Regina's hands traveled from Emma's shoulders, up her neck, and rested on her cheeks. "It's not a no, sweetheart. You know that. I just want to make sure you're okay. I think you owe it to yourself and to this child you want to give a home to. You have to heal first."

Emma took a breath and rubbed her forehead briefly before putting her hand on Regina's hip. "I know. I know. It just feels so weird to have to heal something that's not actually bleeding."

Regina smiled a little, even though that made her quite sad. "I know, but I also know about broken things that don't bleed. Those are the worst types of wounds. I'm here you to help you, so you don't shatter in on yourself."

"Stop beating yourself up about being the Evil Queen. You've grown."

"Yes, thanks to you. You've been here for me whenever something happens that could make me buckle under the pressure again. I don't want you to buckle. I'm here if you want to talk. Tell me what's on your mind. What made you think about adoption? Why do you want the boys back?" Regina asked.

Emma glanced away. "I guess… I just… Maybe I am a little on edge about my parents. It's still scary how Faust turned off my emotions for you and Nathan. I know I would cut them off for you, but it's scary to know I could do it voluntarily."

Regina shook her head. "It's not the same, my love. You would still be able to feel things for your parents if you cut them out of your life. Besides, we both know I wouldn't let you do that. I'm flattered you'd try to do it for me, but you've been waiting for parents your whole life. I wish you got a better set, but they're yours and I would never stand in the way of you having a relationship with them."

Emma blew out a long breath. "But, that's the thing. I wouldn't want a relationship with them if they don't treat you right."

"Having or not having a relationship and turning off your emotions are two different things." Regina felt like she understood what was troubling Emma at the moment. It came up every now and then since the thing with Faust.

Emma frowned, like she did not believe Regina. Regina could not have that. She cupped Emma's cheeks and stared into her eyes.

"You cannot just turn off your emotions like he did. You won't wake up one day and find you don't love our sons or your parents or even me," Regina said.

Emma gasped, like it had not occurred to her she could stop loving Regina. She wrapped her arms around Regina and held her with a desperation Regina felt in her bones. Taking a moment, Regina rested her head against Emma's shoulder and placed soft kisses to her neck. Then, she pulled back, cupping Emma's face once more. She stroked Emma's cheeks with her thumbs.

"You listen to me, my love, you can't just turn off emotions. Believe me, I know. I love my mother still, despite everything she put me through and despite the way things ended. And…" Regina narrowed her gaze. "If you ever mention this, I will definitely periodically poison all of your favorite foods." It was just enough of a threat to possibly be true.

Emma sat up a little straighter. "I would never break your confidence."

Regina let out a low breath as she admitted her darkest secret to her beloved. "Just as your mother still loves me, I still hold some affection for her. There are times I look at her and still see the little girl I saved, the little girl who looked at me with stars in her eyes. Even after everything that happened, I couldn't turn it off. All of it didn't even get twisted. It's there, scratching at my heart every now and then."

Emma sighed and her eyes glistened a little. "I can still feel some of that affection for Lily. I'm pissed at her, yes, but underneath that I can still feel some good emotion for her."

"Then, you know you can't just turn your emotions off like Faust did. It was magic, Emma. You don't have to see our sons every second of the day to make sure the emotions are still there. You know that."

"I do. It's just…" Emma massaged the center of her chest with her index and middle fingers.

Regina put her hand over Emma's, pressing their hands to her heart now. "It'll take time, but know I'm here for you, just like you're here for me. Whenever you need to talk, I'm here. Whenever you need a reminder that your emotions are your own and they don't come with a switch, I'm here. Anytime you need a kiss to help you through, I'm definitely here."

Emma smiled. "I liked that last one. Can I get a sample?"

Regina smiled back and did not make a snide remark, simply leaning in to fulfill the request. It was a simple kiss, romantic in nature, but more sensual than sexual. A closed press of their lips, lingering with subtle movement and charged with affection. Emma pulled away and then put her hand on the back of Regina's head. With slight pressure, Emma put Regina's head against her chest. Emma sighed and put her arms around Regina's waist. Emma rested her chin on the top of Regina's head. This felt like peace.

"I don't understand how he could make this go away," Emma said after a long moment of silence.

"I could hardly explain it. The magic is beyond me, but it is magic. Think of it as science we don't understand," Regina replied. She wished she had more words, but she had studied magic for a long time and she still could not believe what Faust was capable of. He had turned theory into fact. It was like creating a wormhole.

"It's just… this thing between us, our bond, it always felt unbreakable to me. He broke it."

Regina sat up a little straighter as her brow furrowed briefly. She stared directly into Emma's eyes. "He didn't break it. He concealed it. Our bond is clearly still here. We're still together. If he broke it, we wouldn't be together. And I have to wonder, how long would he have been able to do that?" This was question that floated through her mind in quiet moments. Sometimes, it even woke her up at night. She liked to believe his control was finite and would have been short-lived, even though he boasted of being so powerful.

Emma shifted a little. "What do you mean?"

Regina twisted her mouth up a bit, considered her words before she answered. "If he had all the time in the world, he would've left you to drift with Hook, left me to see it, left me to hear your words and know it wasn't you, until I crumbed. This was rushed. Maybe he couldn't manipulate you for long. He couldn't take your heart. Maybe he planned for something longer, but your body, your mind, your natural defenses could fight him."

Emma nodded, but her face was scrunched up in thought. "You think so? It didn't feel like I could fight him. Until he fixed me, I felt exactly how he wanted me to feel."

"Yes, but he had only just cast the spell a couple of days before. He alluded to the fact that you might start coming to. He used it to scare me, but maybe there was some truth to it. He wanted me to think you might break the spell eventually, but not all the way, just enough to know what's going on, but not be able to do anything about it. But, what if the truth was, eventually you would just break the spell?"

Emma arched an eyebrow. "You think?"

"I think your magic is as mysterious as Faust's. The only difference is we understand how Faust got his powers. Yours are something entirely different. If your body could eventually fight down demon magic, it means there's more to you than your Fae True Love magic and more than your Fae Savior magic. Who knows?" Regina shrugged. "You could be some sort of unicorn, and I use that as a phrase from this world, not the Old World."

"You really think so?"

"It might also be why our magics like to mix together. It could be why you can sense me."

Emma's brow wrinkled. "Should I not be able to do that? I figured it was like our True Love spidey-sense or something."

Regina chuckled a little. "There is no such thing. Yes, there is a connection with True Love, as your disgusting parents will tell you, but our bond is different and your sensations are quite different. Your magic is different. You think I would've broken this spell? I'm getting more and more certain, eventually you would've broken it and probably a lot sooner than Faust planned." Emma had a force of will that was beyond anything Regina could fathom.

"You always have so much faith in me."

Regina tilted her head a little. "Why shouldn't I? You always come through."

Emma sniffled and her eyes sparkled with gathering tears. "I want to always come through for you, for our family."

"You haven't let us down, sweetheart. We're still here for you and you're still here for us. He didn't win." Regina looked Emma in the eye, stared her down, gazed into the depths of her soul. "He didn't win."

A tear slid down Emma's cheek. "Because of you."

"But, also because of you. You gave me the strength to take him on. He thought you were my weakness, but you're my strength. He also thought you were weak, but you were strong. You didn't give into his deal, even though you wanted to make Nathan's life better. You're strong, so strong." _Love is so strong, so powerful, all types of love_.

"You make me strong."

"You were strong long before I came along. It's why you're still standing right now. It's why I couldn't run you out of town. It's why you were able to let Henry go with the hopes of giving him a better life. It's why Neal's betrayal didn't break you, why Lily's betrayal didn't break you. You are so strong." Regina meant every word of that.

Emma let out a breath that made her cheeks puffy. "I feel drained right now."

"That's because you're still piecing yourself together. You'll get back to true form. You're on your way. You'll rebuild and be stronger than ever, stronger for yourself, stronger for us," Regina said.

Emma nodded and Regina caressed her head until she moved her head to rest on the back of the sofa. Regina watched as Emma's eyes fluttered shut and she drifted off to sleep. Regina did not move for a long time, not wanting to disturb Emma. Emma had been through much, but Regina was certain she would pull through. It was just who Emma was. Plus, she had her family to help her, which was not something she had in the past. Emma would survive, thrive, and end up better than ever. Regina knew that as a fact.

-8-8-8-8-

The End… for now.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to come say hi to me on Facebook, under the name S. L. Kassidy. Please, let me know what you think of the story and of this particular version of the Swan-Mills family. If you like my work, please, go check out my books on Amazon under the name of S. L. Kassidy. Back to my padded cell with me. Thanks again.


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